posted on 01 Apr 2018

Not My Hats! by Tracy Gunaratnam & Alea Marley

We reviewed Tracy Gunaratnam’s last picture book, Hamster Sitter Wanted and we loved that, so we were pretty confident a new one would also be a treat. Not My Hats! is a simple, colourful and melodic offering that gives children plenty of chance to join in with the rhyming. Needless to say, that makes it a great book for story time and for reading out aloud.

Hettie the polar bear just loves hats – she can’t get enough of them and she’s pretty certain she wont lend them to anyone. When Puffin pops up and asks to borrow one the answer is:

I’ll share my lollies, my dollies, my books and my brollies, my flippers and my slippers and I’ll even share my kippers…..but Ill never, ever share my HATS

Puffin, distracted by the chance of food, drops her interest in the hats and opts for the kippers.

Trying for a second time to get one of the hats, Hettie goes through the list again and Puffin this time decides to keep her feet warm and opt for slippers.

When Puffin tries again he goes for a different tactic, offering a trade……..

A gnome?.........A comb? ….A dog with a bone?.....A fig?......A twig………….A pot-bellied pig?

But the answer is always the same – no. Then Puffin comes up with the one thing that finally tempts Hettie to open her hat box – a scarf. Because, as we all know, hats look good with scarves.

Puffin has lots of different scarves and Hettie has lots of different hats – together they can share and get a chance to wear them all.

As well as having all the fun of rhyming, it’s a story of sharing and discovering how everything is better when you let your friends join in. Alea Marley’s bright and simple illustrative style fits the simple story perfectly. She says on her website that she likes to work with chunky pencils, watercolour crayons, and textured brushes and her uncomplicated illustrations are based on big blocks of colour – perfect for younger children.

The books publisher, Maverick, are making something of a speciality of these generously sized paperbacks so keep your eyes open for anything they do because you’re unlikely to be disappointed.

Terry Potter

April 2018

 

(Click on any image below to see them in slide show format)